Sliding door.



A l. n l wi .n1 7*'- o. mmol. L lwv'f" 'Y V m I l "Illini" "nl HIJ. UH. 1,099,988. Y j mu .1m n, ma 5 I a nmuim n. 1 l 4 I -......J I l .n

n. alu-l nu C. GORDON.

SLIDING DOOR. APPL-IGATION FILED JAN. 3, 1911.

Patented June 11,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l UNTTED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

CLAY GORDON, OF GRENFIEL'D, OHIO, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF T0 C. R. PATTERSON I AND SONS, 0F GREENFIELD, OHIO, A OOPARTNERSHIP.

SLIDING DOOR.

To all 'whom 'it may concern.

Be it'known that I, CLAY GORDON, a citi-l zen=of the United States, residing at Green- 'eld, in thevcounty of Highlandand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and-useful Improvements in Sliding i Doors, of which thefollowing is a specication, reference lbeing had therein tothe laccompanying drawings.

This invention relates to sliding doors, and more particularly to sliding doors for vehicle tops. I

The object of the invention is to lprovide a vehicle top having a sliding door `and having tracks and guides so arranged that mud or ice Will not accumulate therein andinterfere withthe movement of the door; further,.to provide suchy a` topvin which the door will fit snugly within its frame and may be quickly and-ly easily moved into its closed position, and, when vin either its` open ory its closed posit-ion will beheld firmly in place. n e

Init-he accompanying-drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevationofY avehicle top embodyingmy invention; 2 is a perspective viewy partiallyv in section of t-he upper track and its supporting bar; Fig; 3 is a vertical' Sectional view, takenfon the line fr of Fig. 1 andlookingin the direction ofthe arrows;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal, sectionalview, takeny on the line y yl of Fig. l and looking in the direction ofthe arrows;and Fig. 5 is a per-v spective, detail view of the support for the rear endof the door.

In thesedrawings Ihave illustratedv one embodiment ofl my invention. andy have shown=thesame as applied to a storm top for vehicles. comprising a ybody portionfl anda canopy top 2 connected toi said body portion by xed front and side walls 3 and 4, respectively. The forward portions of.

the side walls, of which but one is shown, are cutaway to form doorways. A `door 5 fisslidably supported and is adapted to fit snugly within the doorway andk to tightly close: the same. To this end the upper edge of the door is support-edfrom a track which is so arranged as to be concealed from View an'dclosed against theentrance ofy mud, ice, sleet or any matter which would interfere with the movement of the door. The lower portionv of` the door is providedfwith suitable guiding means which controls the 'lateral. movement thereof and; isv also. arranged- Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1912.

Applcationled January 3, 1911., Serial No. 600,487.

Einlsuch a position as to prevent the accumu-v lation ofmud or ice. The construction and arrangement of the doors on both sides of the top are identical and I have, therefore, illustrated and will now describeV but one door and its coperating parts.

In the present form of the invention the toplis provided with a projection, such as a barb, extending longitudinally thereto and overhanging the doorway andthe fixed side portion. A track is supported beneath this `overhanging projection and is here shown yas comprising an angle iron 7 having one 'flange secured to the vertical edge of the projection 6 and the other flange extending beneath and spaced some distance from the lower surface of the projection. The door ,5 isprovided at itsvupper edge with a supporting device coperat-ing with the track 7, whichin the `present instance, comprises a single supporting member, such as an yangle iron 8 having one flange secured to the sidel of the door5 near the top thereof and its otherlange extending above the upper edge of the door and spaced some distance therefrom. The upper flange of the angle iron 8 is adapted to extend between the lower-flange of the-angle iron 7' and the supporting projection 6, thereby supporting the door from the track 7 and permitting the same to move longitudinally thereto. A suitable stop is provided to prevent the disengagement of the supportingmembery 8 and the track 7. In thepresent instance the stop comprises a strip 9 secured to the under side of the projection 6, extending longitudinally thereto and arranged in Such relation to the track 7 as to prevent the separation of the supporting member 8 therefrom. Thevforward end of the angle iron 7 is curved inward, as shown in Fig. 2, and tends-to draw the forward edge of the door into the doorway when the door is moved forwardly. The arrangement of the stop 6 relative to Vthe forward end of the angle iron is such that when the door is Ain its closed position the supportingl member 8 will be irml Vheld between the lower flange ofthe traer and the stop, thereby holding the door firmly in position and preventing rattling. The arrangement of the stop relatively to the track near the rear edge of the door is such as to permit the rear edge of the door to be moved inward and outward, that is, either into the closed posain; in ainement with da fixed. Side portion 4, y or into a position 'beyond vthe outer'surface of I the fixed side 'portion which will enable the door to be moved rearward on the outside of said fixed side portion. When the door has been moved to its foremostwposition and has v been drawn, into place in the doorway the rear edge of the door is moved inward-and secured in its innermost posltlon by means of a suitable fastening device 10 having a handle 11. VVhe-n locked in this position the door `is in alinement with the, fixed portion ofthe top andpresents a smooth, harmonious appearance, and further, the door fits within the doorway in such a manner` as toeffec-tually shut out the wind. The angle iron 8, which constitutes a supporting' member for the door, extends a shortfdistance beyond the.'

rear edge of the door land has its vertical portion cut away thereby forming a `fiat projection 21. Avslot 22 is formed in the upper part of, the fixedportion ofthe door to receive this flat projection, fand, when the 'door is inits closed position the projec-4 tion will rest upon the fixedside portion and carry the weight of the rear portionv of the door, preventing the sameV from sagging The lower portion of the doorhas a guide member which coperates with a `part car ried by the xed side portion to maintainl the door in proper relation thereto. As hereK shown this guide member comprises an angle iron 12 secured to a bar 13 extend-H ing-.longitudinally to v.the door on the inner side thereof. The lower edge of the verti-l cal ange of the angle iron `l2 extends below r.the projection' or bar 13' and forms fa track or guide. This vertical .fiange ofthe angle iron' extends a short distancebeyond the rearedgeof the door, as indicated at.

14, and, when theV door is in its closed position, is arranged in alinement with a notch 15 formed in the lower edgeof the fixed side portion of the top, thus permitting the rear edge' of the door to be moved inwardly and outwardly without interference by the trackv or angle iron 12. A coperating guide is carried by the fixed side portion of the top and preferably comprises a lip 16 carried by aplate Y17' secured-to said fixed side por' tion. This lip is arran ed in alinement with the notch 15, and, w en the rear edge of the door is moved outwardly,theeproj ecting portion 14 of the angle iron 12 will engage'the lip 16 and thus limit` .the outward movement of said door.

for' the track 12 and cop'erate therewith to prevent the outward movement of the door.

A socket, such as a clip 18, is secured to'the fixed side portion of the top near the rear end thereof to receive the projecting portion 14 of the track 12 and to hold the door snugly against the ,top to prevent the vi-` As the door'ismoved rearward they lip will fform a guide bration or rattling thereof. When the idoor is moved toits closed position the upper edge thereof will be moved into the doorway'in the manner above described and vthe lower edge thereof will engage one of two diverginfr guide members, 19 and 20, se-

which formsthe coperating member" for.

`the track 12 presents but a small" exposed surface for the accumulation of such Vmatgter, and any matter` accumulating therein can be readily dislodged. Further, it will be apparent that the construction and arrangement of the tracks are such that the door may be quicklyand--easily drawn into Eposition in the doorway and in alinement with the fixed side portion of the top, and, when in this position, the exterior of the toplwillprese'nt a finished and harmonious appearance. i

While Iv have shown and described one Iembodlment of the invention it will be understood that this form has been chosen lfor the purpose of illustration only and I, therefore, wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction shofwn and described, for ob? 'vious modifications will occur to 'a person skilled in the art. i i

Having thusfully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire tos'ecure by :Letters Patent, is

1. A vehicle top comprising a fixed side portion and havlng a doorway arranged in `front of said fixed side portion, a track ex-` to lsaidvehicle top'.4

tending longitudinall lnear the upper edge o said doorway, a door,

a supporting member secured to said door coperating with salid track and capable o `lateral movement relative?I mit the rear edge of said oor to enter said doorway, a guide member secured to. the. iny ner side of said door and comprisingvabar having its rear end extending beyond the rear edge of said door, a notch formed in the forwardedge of said fixed side portion to permit thefpassage of the projecting end of said; guide, and a lip secured to said 'fixed side portion and arranged in alinemet with said notch to limit the outward movement of said door and to coperate with said guidek member to maintainsaid door'in its proper posit-ion relatively to said top.

thereto 'to peri leb 2. A vehicle top comprising a fixed side` r portion andhaving a doorway in frontof said; fixed; side; portion, a Alongltudinal track supported bysaid top above said doorway, a door supported from said track and adapted to be moved transversely to said track into said doorway, a support-ing member secured to the upper portion of said door and having a portion extending beyond the rear edge of said door, said fixed side portion having a part to be engaged by said supporting member to support the rear port-ion of said door when it has been moved into said doorway.

3. yA vehicle top comprising a fixed side portion7 a doorway arranged in alinement therewith, a projection extending longitudinally to said top and overhanging said fixed side portion and said doorway, an angle iron secured to said projection and having one flange extending beneath the same and spaced therefrom, a door adapted to fit within said doorway, and a supporting member secured to said doorway and adapted to extend between the flange of said angle iron and the supporting projection, said supporting member having a `fiat portion extending beyond the end of said door and said xed side portion having a slot to receive said projection.

4;. A vehicle top comprising a fixed side portion and having a doorway arranged in front of said side portion, a longitudinal bar overhanging said doorway and said fixed side portion, an angle iron secured to said bar and having one fiange extending beneath and spaced away from said bar to form a track, said angle iron having its forward end curved inward, a door adapted to fit within said doorway, a supporting device secured to said door and comprising an angle iron having one flange arranged to engage said track and one end projecting beyond the edge of the door, and a stop to retain said supporting device on said track, said stop being so arranged with relation to said track as to permit the rear edge of said door to move transversely to said track when said door is in its foremost position, the xed side portion having a part arranged to be engaged by the projecting end of said track and to support the rear edge of said door when it has been moved transversely to said track.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLAY GORDON. Witnesses:

J. Gr. WHITAKER, R. R. KIBLEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

